Porrino tells the state Board of Nursing that Naomi Derrick stabbed the boy with the needle six times in the knees, leg and arm on May 15. He says the actions were witnessed by employees at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

"A developmentally disabled child, confined to a psychiatric ward under the supervision of nurses, is as vulnerable a patient as you can find," said Porrino. "Instead of caring for this boy and protecting him from harm, as was her duty, Naomi Derrick allegedly used her position of authority to bully and assault him. There is no place in the health care profession for this kind of barbaric behavior."

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Derrick is also accused of bending the 10-year-old's finger back, stepping on his bare foot and causing him to fall by moving a chair he was using to stabilize himself.

Derrick couldn't be reached for comment. The Associated Press called a phone number that apparently belongs to her and its voicemail box was full.